The river press., 1887-06-29
Pumpkin-sticks and Progress--A Southern
Idy1.

1t was down in north Louisiana several
years ago on the line of the Vicksburg,
Shreveport & Pacific railroad, which was
then under construction from Monroe, on
the Ouchita, to Shreveport on the Red
river of the South. The road was well
advanced in the hill country or ssLouisi-
ana uplands," +" between the two rivers, and
the rural inhabitants were gazing on the
wonderful iron horse for the first time,
and indulging in their first railroad rides.
The laughable and exciting scenes that
daily came under the observation of the
railroad men and travellers would have
made an interesting and amusing volume.
We had reached the terminus of the rail-
road, little village about half way be-
tween Monroe and Shreveport, and there
had to transfer to rickety twO-seated We
hicle which by great stretch of the inn
agination was called Ssstage COACH"
We were travelling with a friend who iv-
ed some eight or ten miles further west
on the projected line of the road, and this
| S'gohicle,o y if it held together, proposed to
take whatever of express matter, mail and
passengers that might be loaded on its un-
certain wheels safely through to their var
ious destinations. Just as the coach was
ready to leave the postoffice a man came
from one of the adjoining stores and an
nounced that he would become 'sa fellow
traveller in this vale Of tears" and pro-
ceeded to w ind his elongated form into
the cramped up conveyance through the
narrow aperture dignified by the name of
door. BY taking off his straw hat and
tying his legs in double-boW knots he
succeeded, finally, in slowing himself
alongside Of us, while the driver and our
friend occupied the other seat. We re-
membered to have seen.this same person
get on the train at a way station not many
miles from the terminus, and noted at the
time that he was carrying q comfortable
load of spine top" whisky. We had not
proceeded far until we discovered that we
had struck an original character in the
rough. He surprised us with the fund of
information he possessed on matters in
general, and made us laugh until the tears
absolutely trickled down our cheeks at his
funny yarns and quaint expressions. He.
finally settled down to sober discussion.
Of the progress of the south since the war,
and said it was wonderful what strides
had been made of late years, and illustrat-
ed his points with bit of experience, re-
cited in an inimitable way, that would
battle the skill of the cleverest artists at
pencil work to reproduce: "Did you ever
see any umpkin-stlcksS? Well, thought
not, kase probably you fellers from the
north never had to tote pumpkins outen
cotton field. When / was ayoungster we
used to have pumpkin sticks to carry the
pumpkins outen the fields and put 'em
away in the sheds and under the house
fur winter'use. You see we don't have to
put things in cellars under the ground
here to keep 'em from freezin' like you
have to do in the north. My old grand
daddy used to make them sticks-,one fur
every hand on the place. and heSWas pow
'rful, particular about taking good keer of
'em, and they had to be put way up in the
cotton-gin loft Just same 'sif they was
worth ten dollars apiece. You see they
was about ten feet long, and had one END
,sharpened, while on the obher end was
fixed a block of.wood that'd weigh 'bout
as much 'rordinary pumpkin. Well,
when .getherin' time come we'd take them
poles OH cur shoulders and walk out into
the field and stick the sharp end in the
pumpkins, then balance il on our shoulders
and tote 'em in. Well wed been doin'
that for years until one day one of them
blasted Yankees come along by onr place
and seed MS at work. He haden'r been
there tenlmlnutes fore he persuaded the
old man to take off the sloek Of wood and
sharpen the other end OF the stick and |
make,ns tote two pumpkins at once
That's what | called progression then!
h,,t shucks! 'Taint nothin' compared TO
What we see now with railroads and tele
x